![]() Sport and Exercise Physicians are the only specialist medical doctors that have the training and experience to deal with all types of athletic stress injuries. Scans can also be helpful in determining the severity of a stress injury which will influence how it is treated. Sometimes an expert physician can diagnose a stress fracture just on examination but more often the assessment leads to a high suspicion that needs to be confirmed with a scan. Often, the pattern of the pain is the most reliable feature: ie pain that gets worse the longer that you run that is present on impact. Plenty of stress fractures still won’t be so obvious. ![]() If you also have localised tenderness to touch over a bony area, the suspicion is higher still. Not all stress fractures behave in the typical matter but pain that is always in the same, well localised spot and increases with increased weight-bearing activity is common. Hip and Spine stress fractures can produce vaguely located pain and no localised tenderness. The most reliable feature to find when examined is direct tenderness over a bone – such as a metatarsal (foot) or tibia (shin). What are the symptoms of a stress fracture? Training volume is just one of the many potential contributing factors and many athletes and non-athletes develop stress fractures seemingly innocuously with very low activity levels at times. Some possible warning signs can include missed or late periods in female athletes, high volumes of endurance training or weight-loss.Ī very common mistake athletes make in self-diagnosing is made in the following statement: “I couldn’t possibly have a stress fracture, I have only been training at low volumes/intensity”. This is because there can be multiple contributing factors at play. But often stress fractures can occur without an obvious escalation in training or clear cause. Sometimes the causes for a stress fracture is obvious – such as endurance athletes training at very high volumes. Stress injuries can be anything from a slight weakening/bruising of the bone to a displaced fracture (and everything in between) How do stress fractures occur? If the damage is too much or too repetitive or the body’s repair systems are compromised (fatigue, illness, lack of recovery), then a particular bone can become progressively weakened in one spot. It is normal for force through a bone to cause microscopic damage that the body quickly repairs. Home » Conditions » Stress Fractures Stress Fractures What is a stress fracture?īone is made by living tissue which is constantly being removed and created.
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